Philip Kiliaen van Rensselaer (May 19, 1747 – March 3, 1798) was the second son of Colonel Kiliaen van Rensselaer and Ariaantie (Schuyler). He was a merchant by trade, and his experience in transporting cargo may have helped qualify him as keeper of the Albany arsenal. He was variously referred to as storekeeper, military storekeeper and Commissary for the Northern Department.

Life

He was appointed as ''keeper of the store'' in 1775 and the appointment was confirmed by the Continental Congress. He was also a member of the Committee of Public Safety of Albany. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, armourers were scarce. This is evident in

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

's handwritten orders in a letter addressed to him. The letter also includes a list of his duties, such as arranging the repair of service muskets and transporting the overload. He was elected in May 1776 to the Albany

Committee of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...

, second ward. Philip sat alongside his father and at least one of his brothers, Nicholas. Philip continued serving on that committee until it was dissolved. He was elected

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

for the second ward of Albany in 1782. van Rensselaer leased a tavern five miles west of the Hudson as he developed the Cherry Hill farm. His family house was on the east side of Pearl Street when he built Cherry Hill in 1768 for his wife Maria, daughter of Robert Sanders and granddaughter of

Pieter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...

. Maria was also descended from Rev. Lawrence Sanders ''"...who suffered martyrdom at Coventry, England, 1556, during the reign of

Bloody Mary Bloody Mary originally referred to: * Mary I of England (1516–1558), Queen of England and Ireland, so called because of her persecution of Protestants Bloody Mary may also refer to: Film * '' Urban Legends: Bloody Mary'', a 2005 horror fi ...

"''. They married on what was then Van Rensselaer property between the river and south of the city line. This general area was the location of military stores and quarters during the American Revolution lending to an ironic contrast of imagery to 'their romantic spot'.

Family

*Father: Col. Kiliaen van Rensselaer (Dec 27, 1717 – Dec 28, 1781) was commissioned Colonel of th
4th Regiment, Albany County Militia
Oct 20, 1775 during the Revolutionary War and chairman of the

and served in the Legislature. *Son: Philip P van Rensselaer (1783 – Feb 17, 1827)

References

Notes

Bibliography

New York State Museum

Full text of "Minutes, 1775–1778"George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741–1799: Series 3b Varick Transcripts
{{DEFAULTSORT:van Rensselaer, Philip Kiliaen 1747 births 1798 deaths Albany militia Albany County, New York New York (state) militiamen in the American Revolution Colonial American merchants People of the Province of New York